1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a seal for use in a surgical procedure. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a seal anchor member adapted for insertion into an incision in tissue and including a plurality of non-parallel lumens adapted for the sealed reception of one or more surgical objects such that a substantially fluid-tight seal is formed with both the tissue and the surgical object or objects.
2. Background of the Related Art
Today, many surgical procedures are performed through small incisions in the skin, as compared to the larger incisions typically required in traditional procedures, in an effort to reduce both trauma to the patient and recovery time. Generally, such procedures are referred to as “endoscopic”, unless performed on the patient's abdomen, in which case the procedure is referred to as “laparoscopic”. Throughout the present disclosure, the term “minimally invasive” should be understood to encompass both endoscopic and laparoscopic procedures.
During a typical minimally invasive procedure, surgical objects, such as surgical access devices (e.g., trocar and cannula assemblies) or endoscopes, are inserted into the patient's body through an incision in tissue. In general, prior to the introduction of the surgical object or instrument into the patient's body, insufflation gasses are used to enlarge the area surrounding the target surgical site to create a larger, more accessible work area. Accordingly, the maintenance of a substantially fluid-tight seal is desirable so as to prevent the escape of the insufflation gases and the deflation or collapse of the enlarged surgical site.
To this end, various valves and seals are used during the course of minimally invasive procedures and are widely known in the art. Various seals have been developed including lumens for the reception of surgical instruments. Depending upon the needs of a particular surgical procedure, instruments may need to be angled with respect to one another for extended periods of time. Holding the instruments at angles with respect to one another and/or overcoming the internal biases of the seal anchor member through which the instruments are inserted may fatigue the surgeon and/or breach the fluid-tight barrier between the seal anchor member and surrounding tissue.
Accordingly, a continuing need exists for new seal anchor members that can be inserted directly into the incision in tissue and that can accommodate a variety of surgical objects or instruments while maintaining the integrity of an insufflated workspace.